Strip edge infolding machine



Nov.1l,1947. A. G. GILBERT 2,430,463

STRIP EDGE INFOLDING MACHINE Filed March 11, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR aqgwnq. M

TTORNEYS Nov. 11, 1947. A. G. GIYLBIERT 2, 3 ,463

STRIP EDGE INFOLDING MACHINE Filed March 11, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m:::L- ii: A QHTVSI'IIOR k I i ATT N figf w Patented Nov. 11, 1947 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE srarr EDGE INFOLDING MACHINE Alfred G. Gilbert,South Acton, Mass, assignor to Reece Folding Machine Company, EastCambridge, Mass., a corporation of Maine Application March 11, 1944,Serial No. 526,107

'1 Claim. (Cl. 270-93) This invention is a novel strip edge infoldingmachine or power-driven apparatus for turning or folding inwardly andpressing in place at least one, and usually both, of the edges of acontinuous strip or band of fabric, leather or similar pliant sheetmaterial.

The general object of the present invention is to afiord a machine ofthe kind referred to which is adapted to operate continuously upon atraveling strip of fabric conducted from a suitable source or supplyroll, through the successive operating positions and mechanisms of'themachine, with means to fold inwardly the opposite margins, or at leastone of them, upon the central portion or body of the strip duringtravel, and thereafter press or break and fix the folds, from whichoperations the material may travel continuously onward to a receivingpoint whereat the completed strip may be accumulated in the 7 form of aroll. A further object is to provide such a machine wherein theoperations may be performed by power drive and wherein the driving meansand operating mechanisms are combined and arranged in a compact andconvenient manner. Another object is to afford successive operatingmechanisms each of high efficiency and accuracy, and the whole capableof a substantially high rate of operation, delivering a substantialnumber of yards of completed strip per minute.

Other and further objects .and advantages of the invention will be madeclear in the hereinafter following description of an illustrativeembodiment of the invention or will be understood by those conversantwith the subject. To the attainment of such objects and advantages thepresent invention consists in the novel strip edge infolding machine andthe novel features of combination, arrangement, operation and detailherein illustrated or described.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is what may be termed a frontelevational View of a strip dge infolding machine embodying the presentinvention, with several parts broken away to show the construction ofparts beyond.

Fig. 2 is a righthand elevational View of the machine shown in Fig. 1,also with some parts broken away.

Fig. 3 shows in central section, looking from the right, the take-upreel omitted from Fig. 2, said section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective diagram view on enlarged scale showing thedefining die or templet and the infolding member in operative relationthereto and indicating how the traveling fabric strip has 2 its marginsprogressively inturned at its opposite edges.

Fig. 5 is a similar perspective diagram view of the means or rollerwhich takes part in pressing and creasing the folds produced at theedges of the traveling strip.

The strip of fabric, leather or other pliant material is indicatedgenerally by the reference letter S, and this strip or band, of extendedlength, is shown as being supplied by a roll S thereof, carried on areel which rotates under frictional restraint as the strip is drawn fromthe roll to and through the operating mechanisms of the machine; Thepliant strip may be of different characters and of various thicknesses,but typically it is a simple woven strip or tape with straight parallelside edges, between which lie the body or central part S ofthe strip andthe margins S which are to be infolded. When infolded these margins aredesignated S and the infolded, pressed and completed stripS is shown astraveling to a receiving point and accumulated as a roll S of infoldedstrip.

Before describing the operating mechanisms the machine in general may bedescribed as having a frame with a base portion l0 above which extend arighthand upward extension II and a lefthand upward extension l2.Mounted atop the right-hand frame extension is a fixed table 13, andatthe upper part of the lefthand extension is a fixed-positio axl l4.Attached to the table is shown an upwardly extending bracket I5 at thetop end of which is carried a reel l6 which is rotary and gives supportto the supply roll S of fabric strip,

For a compact arrangement, occupying minimum floor space, the. machinehas the supply reel l6 located at an elevated point, rotatable at thetop of the bracket l5 upstanding from the table I3, while the take-upmeans is preferably located beneath the table. The supply strip S,traveling down from the upper roll S passes first around or underneathan idler or guide roller I l mounted near the righthand edge of thetable l3; and from the underside of the idler roller the path of travelis leftward, the strip passing through the successive mechanisms fordefining and infolding the strip, for pressing and breaking the foldsand for ironing or smoothing them, beyond which operations the materialtravels to the take-up roll 8.

Describing next the take-up means, this comprises a reel [9 shown inFigs. 1 and 3, and comprising a core 20 and a flange 2| which are fastupon or keyed to a reel shaft 22. Preferably the take-up reel is rotatedby a slip drive, so that it winds up the roll of completed strip, in amanner allowing for the gradual decrease in rotary speed as the roll ofstrip increases in diameter.

For these purposes the take-up reel shaft 22 may be power-driven bysuitable connections illustratively shown a follows. On the shaft 22 iskeyed a flanged collar 23, and face to face with this is a flanged loosecollar 24; and an operative connection between these flanges comprises.a spring-pressed disk 25, the flange 23 for example being resilientlysqueezed between flange 24 and disk 25, affording a friction drive ofthe take-up reel. Attached to the loose collar 24 is a sprocket pinion26 and this is operatively geared through a chain 21 with a sprocketwheel 28 mounted on the horizontal shaft 29 which extends fore-and-aftand may be considered as the main shaft of the machine.

For the power drive of the main shaft 2'9, and the various mechanismsderiving their motion from it, there is shown, fast on the main shaft, aworm wheel 30, preferably outside of the frame 96, and this worm wheelis driven by a worm 3| carried on what may be termed the drive shaft 32of the machine. The drive shaft in turn may be power rotated through apulley 33, shown as a 3-groove pulley, which is loose on the shaft andwhich operates to drive the shaft when the clutch is closed as will bedescribed. A belt 34 extends to the clutch pulley 33 from a power pulley35 mounted at the left end of a power shaft 36 which is driven by, andmay be the shaft of, a motor 31. The motor may be an electric motor withconventional means of putting it into or out of operation and varyingits speed, and it is shown carried on an adjustable base 38 which may beslid along a suitable frame part for applying and tightening the drivebelt. The train of driving connections described provides speedreduction, first, at the pulleys 35-33, the latter being of largerdiameter, and again through the worm and wheel 3|--38, so that the mainshaft 29 may rotate at a suitable speed during operation.

The clutch between the pulley 33 and the drive shaft 32 may be ofconventional character, preferably with friction engagement. Thus afriction disk 46 may be employed, splined and shiftable upon the driveshaft, thi disk being cooperable with the pulley 33 to afford drivingengagement between them for clutching purposes. For shifting the clutchdisk 46 there is shown a grooved collar 4| attached to the disk andengaged by the pins projecting inwardly from a yoke 43 which straddlesthe grooved collar and is carried upon a lever arm 44 fulcrumed on anaxle 45 and having a downwardly extending arm 46 by which the clutchoperations may be performed. The rocking lever 44-46 may be pedaloperated for example through a long link 4! extending from the lower endof arm 4'6 to an upstanding rock arm 48 of a pedal shaft 49 having arighthand pedal 50 which may be depressed to cause the closing of theclutch and operation of the machine, and a left-hand pedal forreversing' the conditions and disengaging the clutch. When the stoppingpedal is depressed this may also cause a braking of the main shaft andconnected parts, for example by means of a braking ring 53 adapted toact upon the periphery of the clutch disk 40, with a connection 54 fromthe rock lever 44-46 to apply the brake when the pedal 5| is depressed.

Describing next the operating mechanisms of the machine, the first ofthese consists of a folddefining means, die or templet and cooperatingtherewith an infolding means 13. The die 63 is shown separately in Fig.4 and consists of a defining plate overlying the path of horizontaltravel of the strip, above the machine table l3. The die is shown ashaving defining edges 6| at its two sides, which may be largely parallelbut are initially flared, as shown, so as to facilitate the defining andinfolding actions. The die plate 66 is carried at the lower end of avertical stem or bar 62 suitably mounted in a resilient or adjustableposition in the machine. For example the stem 62 may be formed near itsupper end with a slot 63 engaged by a set screw 64, thus permitting thestem and die to be adjusted vertically and to be positioned and setinitially before the start of operations. Instead of the fixed mountingof a set screw the stem may be resiliently mounted so as to bear downyieldingly upon the traveling strip. The set screw 64 is shown in Figs.1 and 2 as extending through the slot 63 of the stem and thence into theupper end or head 66 of a curved bracket 61 mounted on the machine tableI3.

Cooperating with the die or templet so described is an infolder 16,which may take different forms and which preferably is a passive elementoperating by reason of the relative advancing travel of the strip, theside margins S of which are progressively turned up, over, inward, anddown upon the margins of the die, as the strip material is infolded uponthe die into its desired final form. Illustratively the infolder isshown as a single rigid member which may be removably attached by screwsor otherwise to the top side of the table l3. Thus the infolder is shownas comprising, in its body portion, a flat plate H secured on top of thetable and having at its side edges flanges 12. The body of the plate Hmay taper somewhat in the direction of travel, and the flanges 12 mayinitially stand vertically, sufliciently apart to facilitate the feedingand threading of the strip S between the die and infolder. By reason ofthe general tapering of the infolder, the margins of the strip are bentupwardly, while the upstanding flanges T2 of the infolder areprogressively varied in their disposition, taking a warped form 13through part of their length, the material of the flanges thus becomingprogressively turned inwardly until, near the terminal portion of theinfolder the flanges take a flat horizontal position 14 closely abovethe side edges of the die. The infolder may be fastened down upon thetable l3 by means of accessible screws 15 which can be readily removedto permit the sliding away of the infolder and thereby the verticaladjusting of the die.

It is to be understood that the die and infolder, in their design anddimensions, are cooperative, in that the die toward the latter portionof the infolder, while extending into the recesses underneath theinfolder flange sections 16 does not extend outwardly to fill suchrecesses, a clearance being left sufficient to accommodate the thicknessof the strip material. Similarly, the infolder recesses beneath flangesections M are to be sufficiently deep in a vertical direction toaccommodate not only the thickness of the die, but therewith thethickness of the strip beneath the die, and the additional thickness ofthe infolded strip margins above the die. The result is that the fabricstrip may be fed straight intothe die-and-infolder device, and itsmargins gradually turned upwardly and folded over inwardly anddownwardly to a. definite position, defined by the die, the material,thus infolded at one or both of its edges, issuing from the latter partof the device with its infolds accurately formed as predetermined by thedesign and dimensions of the parts.

From the infolding means, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the infolded stripmaterial advances with continuous travel to the next mechanismcomprising a fold-pressing roller 88, the operation of which issometimes referred to as breaking,tending to put a definite pressureupon the folds, to set them while freshly folded. The breaking roller 89need not be driven except by the travel of the material, and it istherefore shown as an idler roller, turning freely upon a short axle 8!extending across between the two sides of a yoke 32 which in turn has avertical stem 83 carrying a dead weight 84 designed and applied for thepurpose of giving a predetermined downward pressure upon the creasingroller. For the purpose of such pressure a spring could be used but theutilization of gravity avoids the need of a spring.

A simple mounting for the fold-pressing roller 89 is shown as consistingof a carrier arm 85, rigid or integral with the yoke 32 and having itshub swingable loosely on the axle I l atop the lefthand frame extensionl2. For the purpose of initially threading the strip into the machine,after it has been passed around the guide roller [1 and beneath thetemplet 6!), a device is illustrated for lifting slightly the pressureroller 8% from the strip traveling on the table. This device consists ofa short lifting finger 81, suitably pivoted to the frame extension H,and having a long rightwardly extending lever arm 88, the end of whichis formed as a handle 89 which needs only to be depressed, causing thefinger 8i to bear upwardly against the yoke 82 and thus provide a spacefor feeding the strip beneath the roller. The creasing roller 8% and theunderneath table l3 constitute opposing members for pressing betweenthem the infolded traveling strip.

The next mechanism along the path of strip travel comprises a wheel 99which both operates to drive the strip and takes part in a stripsmoothing or finishing action as the strip advances to the take-uppoint. The strip feeder wheel 96, as best seen in Fig .2, is providedwith a cushioned rim 9 l, the rim flange for example being padded andthe padding covered with leather, fabric or other sheet material. Thewheel rim is connected by a web 92 with its hub 93 and the latter iskeyed upon a counter-shaft 94 parallel to the main shaft 21, the shaftsbeing geared together by a gear 95 on the countershaft in mesh with agear 96 on the main shaft. In operation the drive of the takeup reelaffords a working tension on the length of strip between the drive wheeland the take-up, so that substantial friction is provided between thepadded drive wheel and the strip, so that the drive wheel functions as astrip feeding means, pulling the strip progressively through theinfolding and pressing points, carrying it around from the level of thetable downwardly around the periphery of the drive wheel, at the leftside of the machine, and thence rightwardly to the takeup point.

Preferably the drive wheel takes part in a smoothing or ironing actionin cooperation with a smoothing iron I90, which is of arcuate shape tofit the periphery of the strip driving wheel and is mounted swinginglyupon the high axle l4.

' fording an effective finishing action by which any wrinkles areremoved from the strip material and the folds are firmly andpermanently. fixed.

As a convenient means of applying a smoothing and ironing pressure uponthe ironing member I03, this swinging member is shown as provided withan outstanding stem I03, similg to the stem 83 but in this casehorizontal, said stem carrying a heavy weight I94 the gravity of whichcauses the ironing member to be forced inwardly against the padded orcushioned periphery of the strip advancing wheel 90.

In reviewing the invention above described in detail it may first bestated that for many practical purposes cloth pieces that have to bestitched must have their edges first folded-in in order to avoid theappearance of raw edges, to prevent raveling, and to give strength tohold the stitches that are to be applied. In the case of elongatedstrips, belts or bands, which may be supplied in rolls or otherwise, itis therefore necessary to open up at length or unroll the strip in orderto permit its edge or edges to be infolded, and the strip then wound orcompactly disposed until stitching is to be applied, These operations ifmanually performed are cumbersome and unwieldly and are subject toinaccuracies as well as slow operation and therefore high cost ofproduction. The present invention performs ub stantially automaticallythe necessary opera tions, and supplemental ones, and can deliver thinfolded product in the uniform and compact form of a roll, ready forstitching or other opera tions.

The present invention comprises the cooperating combination of certainessential means or elements, and in a more specific aspect comprisesthese together with certain advantageous additional means or elements. Acharacteristic element is the strip driving or feeding element locatedintermediate the supply means and the take-up means and shown in theform of a feeder or wheel 99 of substantial diameter having drivemechanism for continuously rotating it to pull the strip progressivelyfrom the supply and advance it toward the take-up. This feeder or wheelis shown with its rim padded or cushioned, the covering thereof beingmore or less rough, according to the material of the strip to beinfolded, to give a feeding grip upon the strip without injury to thematerial. Taking a specific case, merely as an example, the fabric orother strip may be 2 inches wide and required to have A. inch folds atits edges. The feeder Wheel may be driven at 15 R. P. M. and may have acircumference for example of 3 feet, so that 45 feet of strip may behandled per minute. The strip edge infolding means is intermediate thesupply and the feeder wheel and its edge definer or die cooperates withits infolder, the two being operable progressively by reason of theadvancing travel of the strip; the die being movable or adjustabletoward and from the infolder to take care of variations in thickness ofstrip. The operations and results are greatly improved by thecooperation of the described pressing or creasing means in advance ofthe feeder wheel and the sm9 oth ing or ironing member facing andcooperative with the feeding .wheel.

The pressing or creasing means is shown as consisting of opposed memberswith means for causing their relative approach, one member being therotatable roller 80 operating by reason of the travel of the stripbetween the members, and the other being either a second roller orpreferably a stationary member, supplied by the table l3, which isunderneath and also gives support to the traveling strip; the creasingpressure between these two members being predetermined by the gravity ofthe dead weight 84.

The smoothing or ironing member or plate I90 is of arcuate form,adjacent to and facing a portion of the periphery of the feeder wheel,and having means causing this member to bear upon the strip travelingbetween the wheel and member, thereby to squeeze, smooth and fix theedge infolds, which is considerably aided by the heating of theconcavely curved plate, which is preferably polished at its innercontacting surface.

The operation will be understood from the foregoing description. A rollof the raw fabric or strip is loaded on to the reel l6. Its end is thenthreaded through the machine, being passed around the guide roller l1and thence, preferably horizontally, to and through the infolding means,the die being lifted for this purpose and then restored and held in itsdefining position. The material is then threaded through the creasingmeans, between the table and the pressing roller 80, these beingmomentarily separated by operating the handle 89 to lift the mountingsof the roller, which is then let down upon the strip upon the table. Theedge infolds are preferably formed at the upper side of the strip, asspecifically illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, so that the creasing roller80 presses directly upon the infolds as the strip passes alonghorizontally upon the table. Enough strip is pulled through initially toenable the feeding or strip driving wheel 90 to receive an extendedlength of strip and exert a frictional grip thereon for feedingpurposes. The folds of the strip rest outwardly as the strip passesaround the feed wheel, but later as the strip is wound on the take-upthe folds lie inwardly so that when the take-up roll or strip iscompleted the folds are concealed by the body of the strip. Thesmoothing or ironing action is by the polished curved plate I80 bearingdirectly against the infolds at the outer side of the traveling strip;and the cooperation of the feeder wheel and the hot ironing member givesan effective final smoothing and setting of the folded strip. Thetake-up means affords an action whereby the strip is maintained tautbetween the feeder wheel and the take-up, so that effective friction anddrag are provided between the strip and the cushioned periphery of thewheel. This result is attained by the driving of the take-up reel l9 ata speed which never permits the strip to become slack between the feederwheel and the take-up. There is a speed multiplication factor in thetake-up sprocket drive 28, 21, 26; and this drive of the take-up reelaccommodates itself to the peripheral speed of the feeder wheel and thefabric strip by reason of the slip connection 23, 24, 25 in the train ofconnections from the main shaft 29 to the take-up reel.

The operation as a whole is reliable and substantially foolproof. Anygiven supply of fabric strip is handled and infolded expeditiously andaccurately, with a uniform product. The machine is well adapted to thehandling of strips of varying width, for it will be noted that thereels, supply and take-up, are open at one side, and that the width ofthe rollers H and I8 and of the rim of the wheel 99 give ample latitudefor varying the width of the strip; although the defining die andinfolder device are preferably interchangeable for strips of differingwidth. Owing to the accurate in-folding of the edge or edges, and theirprompt creasing, followed by their passage around part of the peripheryof the feeder Wheel, and the hot ironing of the folds thereon, thefolded strip is put into permanent condition, for all practicalpurposes, and without the need Of any adhesive to cause the infolds toremain set, so that there is no disfigurement of the fabric from liquidadhesives, and no basting or other temporary holding means is required.

The padded wheel and polished concave iron I00 have two joint functionsof importance. (1) They cooperate in the pulling feed of the strip, theiron pressing the strip to the wheel rim to create friction and dragwhile the wheel rotates to pull the supplied strip through the foldingmeans. (2) They cooperate in the final smoothing and fold-setting by theironing action as the wheel rim and strip pass along the hot concavesurface of the iron, which thus relatively slides or wipes over thestrip with pressure against the padded surface of the wheel. The actionis not comparable with a tangential or line contact between a roller orrollers and a cloth blank, since here the concave iron has face contactover an extended length and area of the wheel rim and strip. This iscomparable with the true ironing action of a hot flatiron upon a garmentupon an ironing board, but here the iron is concave and stationary whilethe supporting rim is convex and rotary; in both cases there is pressingcontact with frictional rubbing action distributed over a large area,compared with the line contact of an ordinary presser roll. The contactmay be over a substantial arc, as 90 to 0f periphery, contrasted withthe negligible contact afforded when a pressing roll is tangential.Herein the ironing member I00, in the sense mentioned is caused to pressforcibly against the rim of wheel 90 by the simple means shown, of ashiftable or pivoted mounting near the wheel top, the iron dependingtherefrom and having the horizontally projecting stem m3 carrying theheavy weight I04. more reliable and durable than a spring device.

There has thus been disclosed an illustrative strip edge infoldingmachine embodying the principles and attaining the objects of thepresent invention; but since many matters of combination, arrangement,operation and structure may be variously modified without departing fromsuch principles it is not intended to limit the invention to suchmatters except to the extent set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

In an automatic and continuously operating strip edge infolding andfold-setting machine of the kind provided with automatic strip supplymeans and automatic strip take-up means operable for strip material ofindefinite length and therebetween an automatic strip-edge infoldingdevice operable progressively during the advancing travel of the strip;the combination thereof with a provision comprising the followingautomatic and cooperating elements constituting a strip feeding andfold-setting means to which the strip under tension is automaticallyconducted beyond th infolding device, namely: a

rotatable strip-conducting feed-wheel of substantial diameter withpadded rim to which the strip travels tangentially, and said feed-wheelhaving drive'mechanism for continuously rotating it to pull along andthereby feed under continuous tension the supplied strip by frictionaldrag progressively from the infolding device and advance it toward thetake-up; and a non-traveling polished hot-smoothing iron of concavearcuate form mounted shiftably in opposition to an extended arcuatelength of the rim of the padded feed-wheel and having means causing suchsmoothing iron continuously to bear forcibly upon the strip as the striptravels along upon the advancing feed-wheel rim in concave slidingcontact against the non-traveling smoothing iron, thereby continuouslyto iron and smooth the edge-folded strip effectively to fix and set theinfolds thereof by the prolonged relative sliding and frictional wipingaction of the polished concave iron against the traveling strip carriedupon the convex rotating rim of said feed-wheel; whereby the convexrotatable padded feed-wheel 10 and the non-traveling concave ironmutually take part both in the continuous tension feeding from thesupply through the infolding device toward the take-up and in theprogressive smooth-ironing of the folded strip in advance of take-up.

ALFRED G. GILBERT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

